Alia's Wonderfully True Adventure

Summer was almost over, and Alia had a few more days left before 5th grade would call her to attend. I wish summer would never end, she thought. Even though her mother bought her a really fun new outfit (with a matching shirt and sneakers) she wasn't looking forward to the end of her freedom.

Her grandmother noticed this and said, "It would sure be fun to have an adventure today. I need to get out there and explore. Let's get our exploring hats on and go to the mountains."

Now that her family had moved to the same town as her grandmother, life was getting interesting in many new ways. Grandma was getting older (in her 60's, wow!), and her mom and dad thought it best that they came to look after her. She loved everything about the new town she moved to. It wasn't much of a town, more a designated wilderness with a big lake, rivers, and foothills to explore, and just up the road was a national park with dizzying mountaintops and big, hugging-around trees called Sequoias. She was so happy to be living near her grandma. She didn't think she needed much looking after; she just wanted to share in and be around her grandma's fun-loving spirit. She heard that her grandma is enlightened but she didn't really know what that meant. She did know that being around her was always fun, with a lot of good heart-feeling.

"Should we pack a sandwich, Santosha?" (her grandma's name)

"Yes. Good idea, let's go. It's already getting warm."

Santosha parked the jeep across from the Giant Forest Museum. The air was a bit cooler, so they put on their light jackets. "Let's walk around the Round Meadow and see what we see."

As they walked through the forest, Alia noticed how beautiful the Sequoia trees looked when the sunlight showed on their massive trunks. She looked up at their treetops and said, "The tops of the trees are so high up it hurts my neck to look up that high."

"Me too," laughed Santosha.

As they walked around the meadow, Santosha noticed the signs that the end of summer was upon the meadow. The flowers were dried stalks, and the grasses were very tall with burned tips from the heat.

"Look, Santosha, there is a bear. It looks like he is trying to find something to eat."

"Yes, I hope he doesn't smell our great cheese sandwiches," laughed Santosha.

They steered clear of the bear and watched his antics from a distance. Alia pointed out to Santosha the woodpeckers that were singing their funny songs as they flew from tree to tree.

"I'm hungry, let's eat." Santosha handed Alia her sandwich, and they sat on the bench, feeling relaxed and alert to whatever could happen next. Alia felt she wanted to see everything and gobbled her sandwich down quickly.

"What are we going to explore next?"

"Before we climb all the way up Morro Rock with all of its steps and great view, I wanted to show you something both wonderful and true."

"What's that, Santosha?"

"Come on, I'll show you."

They continued to walk around the meadow, and Alia was anxious to figure out what it was that Santosha wanted to show her. Santosha slowed down and gazed at the meadow and forest, and Alia could see a sweet smile Santosha had. "Can you feel this?" she asked Alia.